Cardiff Metropolitan University and Keep Wales Tidy have launched a brand-new campaign to reduce cup waste and boost recycling on-the-go.
With support from the Paper Cup Recycling and Recovery Group (PCRRG), dedicated cup bins have been introduced across Llandaff campus to encourage tea and coffee-lovers to recycle as they move around the University.
All used cups will be collected, processed and transformed into new products by Simply Cups, a specialist UK-based recycling company.
Single-use cups are difficult to recycle because of their plastic inner lining. In the UK, it is estimated that 2.5 billion single-use cups are thrown away each year, with the vast majority – around 99.75% – not recycled.
The campaign is the latest development in Cardiff Metropolitan University’s drive to promote sustainability across all its activities.
Environmental Performance Manager at Cardiff Met, Rachel Roberts said: “We place a huge focus on sustainability at Cardiff Met – we are currently placed 8th in the UK and 1st in Wales in the People and Planet Green League and are always looking at ways to build on our success. We are very pleased to be the first Welsh university working in partnership with Keep Wales Tidy, PCRRG and Simply Cups on this exciting pilot scheme which we hope will massively reduce the number of disposable cups going to landfill.”
As well as making it easy for people to recycle with eye-catching cup-shaped bins, the campaign will encourage people to switch to reusable cups and make use of the University’s extensive water refill facilities.
Hanna Jones, Policy Officer at Keep Wales Tidy who is coordinating the project said: “We’re delighted to be working with Cardiff Met to help reduce single-use cup waste at Llandaff campus. It’s clear that staff and students want to do the right thing when it comes to caring for the environment. When people don’t have their reusable cups, it’s important that we make it as easy as possible for them to recycle. It’s exciting to know that all of the cups collected will be turned into second-life materials – from office supplies and picnic benches, to brand-new reusable cups. We’ll be monitoring the impact closely, with the aim of replicating successful parts of the campaign in other areas.”
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